Portland's stirring comeback in the 3-3 draw against Columbus Saturday night was inspiring, but the game did little to alter the Timbers' status in the Western Conference.

They're still near the bottom looking up.

"It's not where we want to be. We're still behind in terms of points," Portland coach Caleb Porter said. "At the end of the day we've got to do better, but it's important to keep in mind we're only five points off the (playoff) line."

The Timbers have 10 points, trailing Colorado (15 points) for the fifth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

The Timbers are energized after erasing one-goal deficits twice while playing with 10 men, but they had to fight to earn a draw at home against a team that walked into Providence Park winless in their previous seven games and had not scored a goal in three consecutive games.

The game against the Crew ended the Timbers' three-game home stand and they finished the stretch with a 1-0-2 record and five points. The locker room talk was about the Timbers winning all three games, but realistically, they probably would have been happy with winning two of the three games.

Coming away with two draws likely wasn't what they had in mind in even their most pessimistic scenarios. Prior to the game, Porter said the team needs to accumulate 42 more points to earn a playoff spot. During the team's four-game unbeaten streak, the Timbers have captured a total of six points.

"Maybe you don't need 42 points. Depends on the other teams," Porter said. "We're going to stay on track with that."

Now, the Timbers must travel across the country to play at the mercurial New York Red Bulls Saturday afternoon, a team that can look like potential MLS champs one game and like a disorganized college team the next.

The Timbers have usually played well against the Red Bulls, and more important, they have scored goals. They trailed 3-1 before scoring two second-half goals to finish in a 3-3 draw in the season-opening game at Portland in 2013. The Timbers blew a 2-0 lead and lost 3-2 at New York in August 2012.